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A Record Collector's Guide


Rocket from the Crypt Bootlegs

What do you get when a rock band gets big in the UK, Japan, and Australia? A shit ton of bootlegs. Rocket from the Crypt appeared on a good chunk of unofficial releases.

 

Super Ride 45

Cut It Loose b/w Boychucker

Unofficial 7", released 1993

This is one of my favorites of Rocket's bootlegs. Limited to 1,000 hand-numbered copies. Recorded during the band's legendary first trip to Japan in 1993. I was in Japan at that point, but did not learn about Rocket until a couple of years later. Black vinyl. The price was up and down for a while, but it is pretty stable these days.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
Black 15-20 3 Stable
Sleeve Paper foldover, hand-numbered

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

     
     

Rocket Queen EP

10 Forward/Call It a Complex b/w Ballot Fire/I Turned Into a Martian (live), released 1995

Unofficial 7", released 1995

This record contained the three tracks that (for a while) could only be found on the original Japanese version of All Systems Go!, along with one live track recorded in Japan. This was (theoretically) originally pressed in an edition of 500. Many variations of sleeve colors (both paper and ink) exist for this pressing. Then, there was an additional pressing of 300 with a black & white, completely different sleeve. That one was hand-numbered. I am assuming these pressing numbers are accurate, but that is a dangerous game with bootlegs. The vinyl was identical for all versions: all translucent black (brown tint).

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
1st Pressing - Black (500) 20-30 5 Stable
2nd Pressing - Black (300) 15-20 7 Stable
Sleeve Paper foldover
Credits rftc.com: blue, green, white sleeve images

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

In the White Room (With Black Curtains)

Born in '69 b/w Young Livers/On a Rope

Unofficial 7", released 1996

This is the one of a wave of bootlegs that appeared along with Rocket from the Crypt's mid-90s takeover of the UK. Two 7"s and two 12"s surfaced, all around the same time. This one was recorded live at Westway Studios in London on 2/2/96. Black vinyl. Wegi tells me the band was selling this and the Star Search record on their 1996 European tour. According to him, the band said that they caught the bootlegger before he could get the records into stores, and they took over...which is awesome, if true.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
Black 6-10 2 Stable
Sleeve Full glossy

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

Star Search

My Arrow's Aim/Rid or Ride b/w UFO UFO UFO/Light Me
Live at Maida Vale Studios, UK, January 1996

Unofficial SS909 7", released 1996

Another in the line of 1996 UK bootlegs. Black vinyl. As stated in the previous entry, word is the band caught the bootlegger and started selling these on their own, beginning with the shows of their 1996 European tour. Versions exist with either blank blue or blank red labels.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
Black 8-12 2 Stable
Sleeve Full glossy
Test Pressing Black vinyl, white labels

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

Radio and TV Broadcasts from the UK 1995

Unofficial LP, released 1996

Limited to 300 copies - this was a one-sided 12" that contained the same tracks that showed up on the In the White Room and Star Search 7"s. Plain black sleeve with a hand-numbered insert, which apparently came in a couple of different colors. Blue vinyl, one side of which has a very cool screen-printed Rocket image on it. It can sell for a few bucks, but has gotten cheaper over time.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
Blue 30-40 7 Down

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

 

Split w/ the Misfits

Radio and TV Broadcasts from the UK 1995

Unofficial LP, released 1997/2009

This contained exactly the same recordings as the last entry...this one just had a 1981 Misfits set on the flip side. Also originally limited to 300 copies, with a plain black sleeve and hand-numbered insert. I have seen this record sell for a lot of money. Must be the Misfits collectors getting in on it. It came WAY down after it was re-pressed. These were all on white vinyl (as far as I know).

The test pressing was on black vinyl. For the test press, the inserts (the two on separate pieces of paper) were taped to the inner sleeve, and the 300 was crossed out and replaced with a number out of 15. If it were just the inserts that were altered, I would be skeptical, but the fact that it was on a different color of vinyl tells me that it was a legit test pressing.

Starting in 2009, a second pressing of this one started to surface with different inserts. That pressing also appeared to be of 300, and was also numbered (though, of course, rule number one of dealing with bootlegs is don't trust bootleggers...). As mentioned, this pressing caused the value of the original pressing to drop considerably. The new Rocket insert was a dead giveaway for it being a later pressing, as it stole some of the artwork from the RFTC album, which was released two full years after the initial pressing of this boot.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
1st Pressing - White 30-40 7 Stable
2nd Pressing - White 30-40 7 Stable
Test Pressing Insert
Test Pressing

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

Apeshit at the BBC

Lipstick/Break It Up/When in Rome/Watusi '98/Panic Scam

Unofficial CD, released 1998

The title pretty much says it all. This CD surfaced very soon after the band made its triumphant return to the UK to promote RFTC in 1998. Recorded in July, and I am pretty sure I got it in Japan in August of that year. Excellent version of Lipstick, and the instrumental "Watusi '98" is one of my favorite instrumentals of all time. Wegi told me that Rocket was selling these when they were on tour in Germany in 1998. So...did they actually catch a bootlegger, as the story went for the two earlier 7"s, or did they have a hand in the production? Mysteries of the universe.

Version Value ($) Scarcity Price Trending
CD 5-8 3 Stable

This page was last updated on January 6, 2020.

Rocket from the Crypt Index
Rocket from the Crypt Albums
Rocket from the Crypt Compilations
Rocket from the Crypt Bootlegs
Rocket Pack Owner's List
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Scarcity Score Definition
10 Near impossible: Fewer than 50 copies or publicly sold every few years
8-9 Very rare: 50-199 copies or publicly sold 1-2 times per year
6-7 Rare: 200-499 copies or publicly sold a few times a year
4-5 Medium: 500-999 copies or publicly sold ~10 times a year
1-3 Common: 1000+ copies, readily available, or publicly sold 20+ times a year

Estimated values are based on recent auction results or online sales. Commercial use of images on this site is not permitted. Non-commercial use of images permitted, with attribution to Pette Discographies. All images copyright their respective owners.